NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps (informally the NOAA Corps) is one of eight federal uniformed services of the United States, and operates under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a scientific agency overseen by the Department of Commerce. The NOAA Corps is made up of scientifically and technically trained officers. The NOAA Corps and the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps are the only U.S. uniformed services that consist only of commissioned officers, with no enlisted or warrant officer ranks. The NOAA Corps' primary mission is to monitor oceanic conditions, support major waterways, and monitor atmospheric conditions.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps
22 May 1917[1]
(107 years)
United States
Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.
"NOAA Corps"
"Science, service, stewardship."[5]
- "Forward with NOAA" (1988–2017)[7]
- "Into the Oceans and the Air" (2017–present)
VADM H. Arnold Karo
RADM Evelyn J. Fields VADM Michael S. Devany
The NOAA Corps traces its origins to the establishment of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps on May 22, 1917, which the service recognizes as its official date of establishment.[11][12] The Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps became the Environmental Science Services Administration Corps in 1965, which in turn became the NOAA Corps in 1970.[12][13]
Mission[edit]
The NOAA Corps is the smallest[14] of the eight uniformed services of the United States government. It has over 300 commissioned officers, but no enlisted or warrant officer personnel. The NOAA Corps today employs professionals trained in engineering, earth sciences, oceanography, meteorology, fisheries science, and other related disciplines. NOAA Corps officers operate NOAA ships, fly NOAA aircraft, manage research projects, conduct diving operations, and serve in staff positions throughout NOAA, as well as in positions in the United States Merchant Marine, the United States Department of Defense, the United States Coast Guard, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the United States Department of State. Like its predecessors, the Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps and the ESSA Corps, the NOAA Corps provides a source of technically skilled officers which can be incorporated into the U.S. Armed Forces in times of war, and in peacetime supports defense requirements in addition to its non-military scientific projects.[15][14]
History[edit]
Early history[edit]
The NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps traces its roots to the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey. The Coast and Geodetic Survey was founded as the United States Survey of the Coast under President Thomas Jefferson in 1807 and renamed the United States Coast Survey in 1836. Until the American Civil War (1861–1865), the Coast Survey was staffed by civilian personnel working with United States Army and United States Navy officers. During the American Civil War, Army officers were withdrawn from Coast Survey duty, never to return, while all but two Navy officers also were withdrawn from Coast Survey service for the duration of the war. Since most men of the Survey had Union sympathies, most stayed on with the Survey rather than resigning to serve the Confederate States of America; their work shifted in emphasis to support of the United States Navy and Union Army, and these Coast Surveyors are the professional ancestors of today's NOAA Corps. Those Coast Surveyors supporting the Union Army were given assimilated military rank while attached to a specific command, but those supporting the U.S. Navy operated as civilians and ran the risk of being executed as spies if captured by the Confederates while working in support of Union forces. After the war, U.S. Navy officers returned to duty with the Coast Survey, which was given authority over geodetic activities in the interior of the United States in 1871 and was subsequently renamed the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1878.[15][16]
With the outbreak of the Spanish–American War in April 1898, the U.S. Navy again withdrew all of its officers from Coast and Geodetic Survey assignments. They returned after the war ended in August 1898, but the system of U.S. Navy officers and men crewing the Survey's ships that had prevailed for most of the 19th century came to an end when the appropriation law approved on June 6, 1900, provided for "all necessary employees to man and equip the vessels," instead of U.S. Navy personnel. The law took effect on July 1, 1900; at that point, all U.S. Navy personnel assigned to the Survey's ships remained aboard until the first call at each ship's home port, where they transferred off, with the Survey reimbursing the Navy for their pay accrued after July 1, 1900.[17] From July 1900, the Coast and Geodetic Survey continued as an entirely civilian-run organization until after the United States entered World War I in April 1917.[15]
Commissioned officers[edit]
Ranks and insignia[edit]
The NOAA Corps uses the same naval commissioned officer ranks as the United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. While the grade of admiral has been established as a rank in the NOAA Corps,[39] the rank has not been authorized for use by the United States Congress.[40] Current NOAA Corps ranks rise from ensign to vice admiral,[41][40] pay grades O-1 through O-9, respectively, although the rank of vice admiral has been used only rarely in the history of the NOAA Corps and its predecessors.
Unless already on active duty as a commissioned officer in any of the other U.S. military services and transferring their commission from that service, new NOAA Corps officers are appointed via direct commission and must complete a 19-week basic officer training class (BOTC)[42] at the United States Coast Guard Officer Candidate School at the United States Coast Guard Academy before entering active duty.
NOAA Corps officers receive the same pay as other members of the uniformed services. They cannot hold a dual commission with another U.S. military service but, as previously indicated, inter-service transfers are sometimes permitted from other services via 10 U.S.C. § 716.
Unlike their United States Armed Forces counterparts, NOAA Corps officers do not require their rank appointments and promotions to be confirmed by the United States Senate, and only require approval from the president.[43]
NOAA Corps Combination Cap Device
NOAA Corps Device
For formal service uniforms, the NOAA Corps wears the same Service Dress Blues and Service Dress Whites as the U.S. Navy, but with NOAA Corps insignia in place of U.S. Navy insignia. For daily work uniforms, the NOAA Corps wears the same Operational Dress Uniform (ODU) as the U.S. Coast Guard, but with NOAA Corps insignia in place of U.S. Coast Guard insignia.